twovests

twovests OP wrote

We're doing a lot of machine learning stuff. I think it's a lot easier for them to write code, play around, and experiment (fluidly) without doing the unfamiliar rigidity of software engineering.

You're spot on with the crappy part of programming. We're using Python, so we have so much less busy-work than other languages.

Maybe I could convince them that growing their software engineering skills will result in a better end-result for them (in terms of professional skill development) and for our sponsor (in terms of a maintainable deliverable), rather than a poorly-documented but fully-functional prototype.

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twovests OP wrote

So the thing with this, the deliverable is only being graded on it's existence.

A corporate sponsor comes in with a project (a Real World Thing), works with students who write the code, and provides resources.

Maybe I should try getting them closer in the loop on our code? They've been trying to steer us towards good software engineering (e.g. weekly pointers like "hey go research devops and tell us about it!") but it hasn't been working.

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